So sorry, Pinko! My second pregnancy was WAY worse nausea-wise and I feel WAY more exhausted this time around (although not nauseous, thankfully). I'm sure the combination of the two is exceedingly pleasant. /sarcasm.

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 6561Location: United States of New England

woohoo sashi! you are like exactly a month after me! (im 5/2)ppk baby-splosion!

Pinko how far along are you?my vomitousness (i just made that word up yay for me!) never went away but it did eventually get less horrible. mine was acid reflux though and not necessarily nausea/morning sickness.

the complete & utter exhaustion went away but the tiredness never did.i dont know if this is a helpful thought at all but i was talking to my acupuncturist and she has one older son (4? 5?) and then two twin girls who i think are almost 2. i said i didnt know how on earth she chased around a toddler when she was pregnant with twins and how all i want to do is flop on the couch. she said even though it was hard she actually had a better pregnancy because it forced her to get up and move around more.

a coworker keeps asking me if ive reached the "superwoman phase" yet where you get a big burst of energy and feel great and want to do a bunch of crepe. im like yeah no im stuck in the "i feel like complete shiitake at all times phase" :-P im 35 weeks today so i dont think superwoman phase is coming :-P

Oh yuck Pinko :-( It's definitely worse with a toddler running around. And you know, having to feed that toddler. And this is how i started letting Ada watch tv.

Has anyone had any problems with sciatica pain? My right butt cheek is killing me and I can hardly walk. It seems if I do any normal activity (like stand at the playground for a couple of hours chasing Ada around or just being out walking around and up and down subway stairs a lot) it gets painful by the end of the day or next day. We walk everywhere so staying close to the apartment for the next ten weeks doesn't really work. And ouch.

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 6561Location: United States of New England

my best friend who just gave birth on Monday was having really severe sciatica pain at the end and her OB told her she could go to a physical therapist to help with the pain. there must be specific stretches you can do. she did not make it because she ended up giving birth first ;-)

i have to go to the chiro weekly at this point or im so broken i cant sleep or walk and i hobble around but my pain is not sciatica. my sacrum twists weird.you could call a chiro and see what they say.

lastly you could try acupuncture. it is great for pain relief.

it sucks, i hear you on the back pain. mine was so bad at one point i couldnt walk down stairs or get into my car :-O luckily that was a very brief time period. that was when i learned the hard way not to skip a week at the chiro!

Hey everyone! Im totally new here and Im 24weeks pregnant right now and already starting to feel like I have a huge belly, but Im happy that I havent gained any weight at all, I have acctually lost 13lbs since I got pregnant and went back to being vegan after three years of eating meat.

I had a very short bout with sciatica - it was really such an awful pain I feel so bad for you Sashi. I had the pain for two days and then went to the chiropractor (I had a regularly scheduled appointment for my SPD pain) and he did one adjustment and sent me to his physical therapist who showed me some simple stretches to do and the following day the pain was getting better and I was back to myself in about a week total. I know not everyone gets such good results but if you can see a chiropractor I would! The stretches that I can remember were just really simple - one was the taylor sitting where you put your back straight against a wall and then touch the soles of your feet together - the closer you can bring your feet to your body the better, and then you lean forward as far as you can and feel the stretch in your buttocks. The other was similar - sit in a chair and cross your legs "man style" (ankle over opposite knee) and then stretch forward toward the knee that is in the air. I did not explain well at all, but you can look them up on the internet.

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 6561Location: United States of New England

Well I had quite an interesting morning. im 35 weeks and I went in for a regular Dr appt. my own regular dr is now on maternity leave so I saw a different Dr at the practice. We did the GBS swab (it’s just like a throat culture except in your vagina! Uhhhh thanks doc!) and then he measured me and said I was just a tiny bit on the small side and asked me when my last u/s was and I have no idea. It was a standard one months ago. So he’s like “im just gonna see if u/s is available so we can take a look at what’s going on.”

PANIC!!!!!!!!! EVERYONE PANIC!!!!!!!!!!

So they made me go have an u/s and of course while you’re sitting there you have no idea what’s going on or what they are looking at or what looks normal and the u/s tech of course cant tell you anything cause that’s a big legal liability so im like freaking the fork out. So she did whatever it is they do and the computer did something and she said I was in the 19th percentile which is pretty low. So ok…….????? so I asked if that was an issue and of course she couldn’t say yay or nay. So I had to go wait for the Dr but then the u/s stuff was taking forever to upload from u/s to his laptop and I was basically having a massive panic attack and about to start sobbing hysterically!! So FINALLY the dr comes in and says everything is fine she’s just a small baby. I think she was 4 lbs 8 oz. (I don’t remember the exact oz but it’s definitely 4 lbs). so according to my weekly phone app she should be around 5.5 lbs so not a huge difference. So I asked what I could do, like could I just cram myself full of food for the next 5 weeks and he said there was nothing I could do she was just a small baby and they would monitor me from now on. He said everything is normal she’s just tiny. Ive gained about 18 lbs in the first 8ish months so she is growing im just not humongous. He said they will have me come weekly now to monitor me but I would have been coming weekly anyways and he said something about putting a fetal monitor on me weekly and I thought he said something about “BPP” but I don’t know if that is what he said or what that means. I also am unsure exactly what the deal is with putting a fetal monitor on me once a week and what that tells them but im totally fine with it.So I left and cried in my car just out of panic and emotional letdown (it was stuck in me I had to get it out!) and then went to work. my hands are still shaking! Geesh! Talk about first time mom nerves!

Ive had such a hard time eating this entire pregnancy that im honestly not so much worried about her *size* but more like brain activity and other more important things. I know a 4 lbs baby can be ok and I still have 5 weeks but now im worried about other stuff. Not sure if I need to be. so yeah full fledged panic attack this morning but I guess everything is fine. they said I will probably have another u/s in a couple weeks to check on progress. She’s not totally head down yet but sort of curled up diagonally which the u/s tech said was the most common position for them to lay.

Aw, Lisa! Don't panic! Babies come on a size spectrum just like everyone else - 19% is not necessarily something to be worried about unless there's other stuff going on and it sounds like you've had a healthy pregnancy in general (even if uncomfortable and nauseating). A BPP is a biophysical profile (http://www.webmd.com/baby/biophysical-profile-bpp). It basically just looks at several indicators of fetal health - muscle tone, breathing, etc. to make sure everything is okay. It also looks at the amount of amniotic fluid around the fetus, which is highly variable based on your hydration status and if it's low, people freak. So make sure you are really well hydrated the week of your BPP. Also, your weight gain is not only normal, it's ideal, so I don't think you have that to blame (and I gained 70 pounds during my pregnancy and had a 7 pound baby, so clearly these things are not that closely related). Also remember that the last month is the quickest for the baby's growth. They can put on half a pound a week in the last month, which would put you solidly in the totally normal sized baby range. Also, remember that U/S measurements of weight are really sketchy in the third trimester. They can be off by as much as 2 pounds, so don't let a weight number that the U/S gives you freak you out.

Think good thoughts and try not to stress! Doctors specialize in finding reasons for testing, it doesn't mean anything is wrong!

I measured small late in my pregnancy with Inez and had to have some more tests and scans and stuff, but everything was totally fine. She came out almost 8 pounds. And, yeah, those ultrasound weight estimates are notoriously unreliable. I don't even know why they share that information, honestly, since it just seems to freak everyone out. The baby's too small! Something must be wrong! The baby's too big! I'll have to have a section for sure! Plus or minus two pounds is A LOT when you're talking about a fetus.

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 6561Location: United States of New England

Thanks for the link Ariann that must be exactly what he was talking about. Ive talked to several people since my appt and we all agree that doc’s are in business to terrorize pregnant women!

My mom said that all her siblings including her (and there A LOT of them) were all small. My biggest uncle (now) was 5 lbs when he was born. So it may be genetic or she may just be a peanut. I know they looked at the amount of amniotic fluid today and no one said anything about it. I guess they just like to use their machines! I think the BPP is next time since he scribbled it down for me to give to the person who makes the appts. But he said we would probably do another u/s in a couple weeks so that is a bit confusing since it seems like the BPP involves an u/s but whatever. Not gonna stress about the particulars!

Thanks for the tip on hydrating! I would not have known that. I will keep that in mind next week.

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 6561Location: United States of New England

Pinko wrote:

Everything Ariann said.

I measured small late in my pregnancy with Inez and had to have some more tests and scans and stuff, but everything was totally fine. She came out almost 8 pounds. And, yeah, those ultrasound weight estimates are notoriously unreliable. I don't even know why they share that information, honestly, since it just seems to freak everyone out. The baby's too small! Something must be wrong! The baby's too big! I'll have to have a section for sure! Plus or minus two pounds is A LOT when you're talking about a fetus.

ok that's good to know. ive heard that before that the late u/s is very unreliable for weight. maybe she weighs 10 lbs now ;-)

I think she was 4 lbs 8 oz. (I don’t remember the exact oz but it’s definitely 4 lbs). so according to my weekly phone app she should be around 5.5 lbs so not a huge difference. So I asked what I could do, like could I just cram myself full of food for the next 5 weeks and he said there was nothing I could do she was just a small baby and they would monitor me from now on. He said everything is normal she’s just tiny. Ive gained about 18 lbs in the first 8ish months so she is growing im just not humongous.

They did a random unannounced what-size-is-the-baby ultrasound on me when I was 37 weeks pregnant with Raygold (even though my fundal height is always big) because Beetroot had been a small baby. He was 6 pounds 13 oz when I popped. (They said Raygold was about 6 pounds. He was 6 pounds 13 oz when I popped him out, too.)

And sheesh, only 18 pounds! I've gained nearly 25 and I'm not quite 7 months -- I put on nearly 40 with Beetroot (my MIL pretty much acted like I was a fat cow -- OH, WELL) and I suspect I'll be piling on more pounds during the last 2 months...

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 6561Location: United States of New England

thanks everyone! it makes me feel a lot better seeing everyone say exactly what i was thinking (that everyone is different and small doesnt necessarily mean bad)

not sure if the plan on doing the BPP every week but my husband said he read some people like having it every week cause then you can see the baby moving around and know everything is good. i figure for me since im prone to rampant anxiety that might actually be a good thing!

i have to go read that whole BPP link now. i skimmed it earlier cause i was at work pretending like i wasnt surfing the web :-P

I remember the GBS test taking several days. They have to culture the sample. Some labs will also test it to see which antibiotics it's receptive/resistant to so they know what antibiotics choices you'll have during labor. I don't know if that part is a normal thing or not, but I was GBS+ and they knew that I couldn't have penicillin already so maybe that's why our lab did that extra step.

BPP every week sounds like crazy overkill if the first one is normal. I mean, I've heard about that in actual high risk pregnancies or for women who are going past 40 weeks, but your pregnancy is not high risk at all (according to what you've posted), they just want to make sure the small size isn't associated with some other problem.

Joined: Fri Apr 01, 2011 11:51 amPosts: 6561Location: United States of New England

so i prolly wont hear about the GBS until next friday at my next appt. that's fine.

yeah i dunno if they plan on doing it every week. it didnt sound like it. it was just something my husband read. now that i think about it i think you're right. that would be overkill in this situation. the only thing they said they would do weekly was the fetal monitor. although they may not do that if the first couple seem fine.

and yeah ive definitely not been high risk. even my birth plan (which my regular doctor read) states that "since ive been considered very low risk" that i wanted XYZ.

that BPP link you posted was mainly things that i dont have or dont apply. they dont even talk about small size until the very end so it's very possible next week will be the only one.or better yet LETS HOPE next week is the only one. he said i might have another u/s in a couple weeks just to see what's doing.

that sucks about GBS+ i have my test soon, not sure when but they said soon and ive got my fingers crossed i am negative because i dont want an IV either. i want to be able to move around as much as possible.

I was GBS+, but they can push the antibiotics thru pretty quickly. I was mobile the whole time... I wasn't in a bed until literally 10 minutes before baby was out. Don't let that stress you out!

Thanks everyone for the tips re:sciatica! I'm going to try doing some stretches. And book a massage (which I've been meaning to do for months now). Today the pain seems under control but if it keeps getting bad I'll ask the midwife I see this week for chiropractor or acupuncture recommendations.

Hey everyone! I'm new here. 9 weeks pregnant with twins and experiencing 24/7 nausea. I'm anxiosuly waiting the end of the first trimester. Looking for a vegan friendly forum where people aren't talking about their weird steak & PB cravings. I've seen at least one member with twins, which is encouraging. Most things I'm reading say being vegetarian is OK, but dairy is necessary for multiple pregnancies. I don't understand why the source of the vitamins matters as long as you get what you need.